1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a car multimedia system and, more particularly, to a door opening structure for a car multimedia system, which can assure stability during the opening and closing of a door and increase the quality of a product by improving the manipulation of the door.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in a car audio system provided in an automobile for the sake of a driver and passengers, a plurality of devices, such as a tuner, a cassette deck and a Compact Disk (CD) player, is integrated with an amplifier, so that multiple functions can be performed. Furthermore, a control panel (front panel) provided with a plurality of knobs is placed on the front of the car audio system, which is constructed as described above, to perform mode selection and function control for the devices.
An opening is formed in the front of the control panel to receive a cassette tape or CD. A door is provided in the opening to prevent the entrance of impurities by closing the opening, thus preventing impurities such as dust from entering into the body of the car audio system from the outside of the system while the cassette deck is not in use.
Meanwhile, there are many types of door opening structures that are applied to car multimedia systems. An example of the door opening structures is disclosed in Korean Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 1999-013795.
Korean Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 1999-013795 discloses a door opening structure for a car audio system, in which guide ribs are disposed between support ribs formed in an opening, thus facilitating an operation of attaching a door to the control panel.
As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the door opening structure for a car audio system includes a control panel 2 in which support ribs 10 and 14 are formed on both sides of an opening 4 and guide ribs 18 are formed between the support ribs 10 and 14, and a cassette door 22 that is attached to the support ribs 10 and 14.
Support holes 12 and 16 are formed through the support ribs 10 and 14, respectively, to accommodate pins 30 and 32 that project from both sides of the cassette door 22. The guide ribs 18 are each provided, on the lower portion of the inside thereof, with a recess 20, into which the portion of the shaft part 24 of the cassette door 22 located above a corresponding longitudinal hole 28 is inserted.
The portions of the guide ribs 18 located below the recesses 20 are fitted into the corresponding longitudinal holes 28 of the cassette door 22.
The cassette door 22 includes a shaft part 24 adapted to have a length identical to that of the opening 4 of the control panel 2 to be fitted into the opening 4, and a blocking part 26 attached to the lower end of the shaft part 24 to block the opening 4.
The shaft part 23 of the cassette door 22 is provided at both ends thereof with pins 30 and 32 that are inserted into the support holes 12 and 16 of the support ribs 10 and 14, respectively. A torsion spring 34 is fitted over one of the pins 30 and 32 of the cassette door 22 to provide a restoring force to the cassette door 22.
The operation of the cassette door support structure for a car audio system is described below.
When a cassette tape has been drawn from the opening 4 formed through the control panel 2, the blocking part 26 of the cassette door 22 is rotated clockwise around the shaft part 24 of the cassette door 22 by the tension of the torsion spring 34 fitted over one pin 32 of the cassette door 22 and blocks the opening 4 of the control panel 2, thus preventing impurities, such as dust, from infiltrating into the body of the car audio system.
In contrast, when a cassette tape needs to be inserted through the opening 4 to be played, the blocking part 26 of the cassette door 22 is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft part 24 of the cassette door 22 by the force of inserting the cassette tape, so that the opening is fully opened, thus allowing the cassette tape to be loaded into the car audio system.
Meanwhile, the cassette door 22 is supported by the guide ribs 18, so that the cassette door 22 or the shaft part 24 of the cassette door 22 is not bent even though a cassette tape is forcibly inserted into the opening 4 of the control panel 2.